Parents spared jail time in 2016 pneumonia death of girl

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Faith Tabernacle Congregation located on 9th Street in Lebanon is under increased scrutiny for its beliefs about seeking medical care after a two-year-old passed away after going untreated for pneumonia.(Photo: Michael K. Dakota, Lebanon Daily)Buy Photo

The parents of a 2-year-old Pennsylvania girl have been spared jail time in the pneumonia death of their daughter after vowing to seek medical care in the future for their other children.

Thirty-five-year-old Jonathan Foster and 34-year-old Grace Foster were sentenced to five years' probation on involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment convictions in the November 2016 death of daughter Ella Grace in Upper Tulpehocken Township.

Prosecutors said they declined to seek medical care on religious grounds, but the Fosters told the Berks County judge Wednesday that since their trial they have realized that they were wrong.

The defendants have been part of Faith Tabernacle Congregation in Lebanon, which instructs members to avoid doctors and pharmaceutical drugs. But Grace Foster said in court that "We can't just follow a set of rules blindly."

Prosecutors initially also charged Rowland Foster, the church's pastor and the child's grandfather, for failure to report suspected child abuse in connection with Ella Grace's death. That charge was dismissed by a Berks County judge in December.